PML-N, PTI join hands in today’s Lahore Bar polls

LAHORE - Two bitter rivals in country’s politics, PML-N and Pakistan Tahreek-e-Insaf, have joined hands in the Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA) elections being held on Saturday (today) to grab the slot of President for their candidate.Shafqat Mahmood Chohan and Chaudhry Naeem are contesting elections for the President slot.Traditional rivals in bar politics — Professional and Independent groups — are persuading the members to elect their candidate for the slot of President. Shafqat Mahmood Chohan is a candidate of Professional Group of Lawyers headed by Advocate Hamid Khan who is also a senior leader of PTI. While, Ch Naeem is a candidate of Asma Jahangir’s Independent Group.Chohan is making third attempt to notch up the slot as he contested last two elections as an independent candidate. He is enjoying support of Arain and Rajpoot clans besides political wing of PML-N.Coalition of Mian Israrul Haq, a main representative of Arain clan in the bar politics, with Professional group may help Chohan win the election. Many bigwigs of the bar and former office-bearers are with Professional group. Pakistan Bar Council’s members Pir Kalim Khurshid, Amin Javed, Maqsood Buttar, Mian Abdul Quddus, and former Presidents of LHCBA Nasira Javed Iqbal, Fakharunisa Khokhar, Ahmad Awais and Asghar Ali Gill, former Finance Secretary Rabbiya Bajwa, Khawaja Tariq Sohail, Azhar Siddique and Zulfiqar Bokhari are among the main campaigners of Chohan. Independent group’s Chaudhry Naeem is former President Lahore Bar Association. His chief supporters include Ahsan Bhoon, Azam Nazir Tarar, Ramzan Chaudhry, Syed Kalbe Hassan, Burhan Moazzam Malik (all members of Pakistan Bar Council). A group of Arain clan led by retired Justice Malik Qayyum is also backing him. Amir Jalil Siddiqui and Irfan Arif Sheikh are in run for Vice President. They belonged to professional and independent groups respectively. Four candidates are contesting for bar’s Secretary. They are Mian Asghar Ali, Mian Ahmad Chichar, Zahid Sikandar Sheikh and Mian Umar Farooq. Nabila Manzoor Jafri, Syed Akhtar Sherazi and Mian Iqbal are vying for fourth slot of Finance Secretary. More than 17,000 eligible voters will exercise their right to vote in the polling for 2014-15 session. A senior member Mashkoor Ahmad Sindhu has been appointed Chairman Election Board to hold the election.